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Giants Release Shun Yamaguchi

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The Giants have released right-hander Shun Yamaguchi, tweets Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. The former Blue Jays right-hander, who inked a minor league contract with San Francisco after he was released by Toronto, announced on Instagram that he is headed back to his native Japan.

Yamaguchi, 33, starred for the Yokohama DeNA Bay Stars and the Yomiuri Giants in a 14-year career in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball before pursuing MLB opportunities in the 2019-20 offseason. He parlayed a career 3.35 ERA in Japan — including a 2.91 ERA and 26.7 percent strikeout rate in his final NPB season — into a multi-year deal with Toronto. The Blue Jays inked Yamaguchi to a two-year, $6.35MM deal on the heels of that terrific NPB career. It was a low-risk investment, but one that simply didn’t pan out.

Through 25 2/3 innings with the Jays last year, Yamaguchi pitched to an 8.06 ERA with a lackluster 26-to-17 K/BB ratio and six home runs allowed. The Blue Jays designated Yamaguchi for assignment and released him before Spring Training games began. He latched on with San Francisco and had a strong spring showing (one run n six innings), but his work in Triple-A thus far has been sub-par. He’s been tagged for 18 runs (16 earned) on 19 hits and 14 walks with 25 strikeouts through 23 1/3 innings.

Given Yamaguchi’s track record in Nippon Professional Baseball, it’s quite possible that he’ll latch on with another club in Japan. There’s certainly nothing that rules out another attempt in MLB somewhere down the road, but for the time being it seems that’s not Yamaguchi’s focus.

Red Sox Designate Colten Brewer For Assignment

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The Red Sox have designated right-hander Colten Brewer for assignment in order to create 40-man roster space for righty Brandon Workman, per a club announcement. Skipper Alex Cora announced earlier today that Workman would be selected to the MLB roster and Brewer would be optioned, but the Sox have now removed Brewer from the 40-man roster entirely.

Brewer, 28, has spent parts of the past three seasons with the Sox after coming over from the Padres in a trade that sent minor league infielder Esteban Quiroz to San Diego. He pitched just one inning for Boston in 2021, yielding four runs in his lone game of the season.

The 2020 campaign was also a struggle for Brewer, who was tagged for a 5.56 ERA in 25 2/3 innings last summer. He posted a respectable 4.12 ERA in 54 2/3 innings with the Sox back in 2019, but that year’s 13.4 percent walk rate was a red flag that made it fair to question whether he’d be able to sustain that level of run prevention.

All told, Brewer has pitched 91 innings in the Majors between the Padres and the Red Sox, logging a collective 5.04 ERA (4.94 SIERA) with a 20.3 percent strikeout rate, a 13.4 percent ground-ball rate and a 50.4 percent ground-ball rate. Brewer sits about 94 mph with his go-to cutter and has, at his best, missed bats at a solid level. The past few seasons have been a struggle both in the Majors and in Triple-A, however. The Sox will have a week to trade Brewer or place him on outright waivers.

Red Sox Select Brandon Workman

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The Red Sox are selecting the contract of right-hander Brandon Workman, manager Alex Cora announced to reporters this morning. Righty Colten Brewer is being optioned to Triple-A Worcester in a corresponding 26-man roster move. A 40-man roster move will be announced later today as well. Workman, who signed a minor league deal to return to the Sox after being cut loose by the Cubs, had triggered a June 1 opt-out clause in his Red Sox deal earlier this week. That gave the Sox 48 hours to either release him or add him to the big league roster, and they’ve chosen the latter.

Workman, 32, pitched just eight innings for the Cubs earlier this season, allowing nine runs (six earned) on a dozen hits and seven walks with 11 punchouts in that short time. He looked quite effective until being tagged for three runs in each of his two final appearances with Chicago. Workman was on a one-year deal worth $1MM, so the Cubs didn’t have a particularly long leash when he struggled early in the year. That he was even available on such an affordable deal was a reflection of similar struggles he endured following a trade from Boston to Philadelphia last summer.

Of course, Workman is no stranger to the Red Sox organization. Boston selected him out of the University of Texas with their second-round pick in 2010, and he spent his entire professional career in the organization up until last August’s trade. Things didn’t pan out for Workman as a starter early in his big league tenure, but a full-time move to the bullpen proved to be a career-changing decision. From 2017-20, Workman threw 157 1/3 innings out of the Boston bullpen and notched a 2.57 ERA with a hearty 29 percent strikeout rate against an 11.8 percent walk rate.

As evidenced by that elevated walk rate, control has long been an issue for Workman, but he’s managed to overcome his sub-par strike-throwing skills by missing bats at a high rate and keeping the ball on the ground at an above-average 46.8 percent clip. Outside of his rocky stints with the Phillies and the Cubs, he’s been a solid late-inning reliever. He’s unlikely to be thrown right back into the fire as the Red Sox’ closer — especially with Matt Barnes pitching so well — but it wouldn’t be all that surprising if Workman resurfaced as a viable setup option before too long. He has some work to do to right the ship, but his poor performance since last summer’s trade effectively amounts to a two-month slump.

Mariners Place Justin Dunn On Injured List, Outright Eric Campbell

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10:10 pm: Dunn doesn’t sound overly concerned about the injury, telling the Mariners television crew his shoulder “just didn’t bounce back” the way he’d expected after his start on May 29 (h/t to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). Dunn believes he’ll only need a few days of rest before he can ramp activities back up.

8:45 pm: The Mariners announced they’re placing right-hander Justin Dunn on the injured list, retroactive to June 1, with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. Fellow righty Robert Dugger has been recalled to take his active roster spot. The team did not provide a timetable for Dunn’s potential return.

Dunn has made nine starts for Seattle this year, tossing 45 1/3 innings of 3.18 ERA ball. That’s high-end bottom line production, although his underlying metrics indicate he’s been rather fortunate to keep runs off the board at that level. Dunn’s striking out batters at an average 23.4% clip, but he’s issuing walks at a very high 14.1% rate. Opposing hitters have only managed a .196 batting average on balls in play against Dunn, who has stranded an unsustainably high 82% of baserunners to this point.

To his credit, Dunn has missed a few more bats than ever this season. The aforementioned strikeout rate is his career-best mark, as is his 9.9% swinging strike rate. He’s also working with career-high velocity. Dunn’s average four-seam fastball speed sits at 93.7 MPH, up more than two ticks relative to last year’s mark. His development is welcome news for a Mariners club counting on the former Mets first-rounder to cement himself as a long-term rotation option.

Seattle has rolled with a six-man rotation throughout the season. Dugger, who has started a pair of his eight MLB appearances, seems likely to step into that mix. Alternatively, the M’s could allow each of Yusei Kikuchi, Chris Flexen, Logan Gilbert, Justus Sheffield and Marco Gonzales to take the ball every fifth day. The Mariners have remained committed to the six-man starting staff all year, but depth starters Nick Margevicius, Ljay Newsome and Erik Swanson are all now on the injured list.

Seattle also announced they’ve outrighted corner infielder Eric Campbell to Triple-A Tacoma. Campbell, who has already cleared waivers, has the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, having previously been outrighted in his career. He played in four games for Seattle this year, his first big league action since 2016. The Mariners now have two vacancies on their 40-man roster.

Reds Designate Hector Perez For Assignment

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The Reds announced they’ve designated right-hander Héctor Pérez for assignment. Right-hander Michael Feliz has been reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list, necessitating a 40-man roster spot. Feliz was placed on the IL yesterday to accommodate the addition of utilityman Mike Freeman, whose contract was selected to the 40-man roster before last night’s game against the Phillies. Lefty Cionel Pérez has been optioned to Triple-A Louisville to create active roster space.

Cincinnati acquired Freeman, 33, from the Indians in a minor trade in March. He picked up two plate appearances in last night’s game, finishing the night on the mound as the Reds tried to preserve their bullpen arms amidst a 14-run loss. That marked Freeman’s sixth consecutive season logging some big league time, the bulk of which came between 2019-20 in Cleveland. Freeman owns a .234/.316/.331 line in 349 big league plate appearances. He’s been off to a tough start with Louisville, hitting just .204/.316/.306 over sixteen games.

Héctor Pérez, who’ll turn 25 this week, originally signed with the Astros as an international amateur. The Blue Jays acquired him as part of the Roberto Osuna deal at the 2018 trade deadline, and he spent the next few seasons in their system. Pérez made his MLB debut with Toronto last year, averaging 95.7 MPH on his fastball and showing a mid-80s slider. The Reds acquired him for a player to be named later or cash considerations in January.

Unfortunately for Pérez, his control has evaporated in the early going this season. Across 8 2/3 Triple-A innings, he’s allowed nine runs on eight hits and an alarming eleven walks. The Reds will now have a week to trade him or place him on outright waivers. Pérez is in his final minor league option year, so any acquiring team could shuttle him back-and-forth between the big leagues and Triple-A for the rest of this season.

Pirates Trade Ildemaro Vargas To Diamondbacks

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The Diamondbacks announced Wednesday that they’ve acquired infielder Ildemaro Vargas from the Pirates in exchange for cash. Infielder Domingo Leyba was designated for assignment to clear a spot for Vargas, who is returning to the club that originally gave him his first Major League opportunity.

Now 29 years old, the switch-hitting Vargas made his MLB debut with the Snakes back in 2017. He was an up-and-down utility piece for them up through the 2020 season, when Arizona designated him for assignment and flipped him to the Twins for cash. That kicked off a series of team changes for Vargas, who has since ridden the DFA carousel from Minnesota to Chicago (Cubs) to Pittsburgh before today’s return to Arizona.

Vargas batted .257/.287/.387 in 265 plate appearances with the D-backs from 2017-20 but has struggled in limited action since that time. He’s tallied 70 plate appearances between the Twins, Cubs and Pirates but managed only a .167/.214/.292 output. Now back with the Diamondbacks, he’ll likely serve as a bench option and provide some depth at second base, third base and perhaps in the outfield corners.

The 25-year-old Leyba came to the Diamondbacks in 2014’s three-team swap that sent Robbie Ray to Arizona, Shane Greene to Detroit and Didi Gregorius to the Yankees. The addition of Ray obviously proved to be of great benefit for the Diamondbacks, but Leyba hasn’t panned out as they hoped. He’s just 7-for-47 with a 29.6 percent strikeout rate in 54 MLB plate appearances — including an 0-for-22 showing so far in 2021.

To his credit, Leyba has hit well in parts of two Triple-A seasons, slashing a combined .311/.361/.547 in 535 plate appearances. He’s also out of minor league options, generally light on power and is not regarded as a top-tier defender anywhere in the infield. He has experience at shortstop, second base and third base. A club with room on its big league bench could take a shot on Leyba, but neither FanGraphs nor Baseball America ranked among the organization’s top 30 prospects heading into the 2021 season.

Giants’ Latest Roster Moves

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The Giants made a number of roster moves on Tuesday, provided here by Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter). On the pitching front, San Francisco purchased Dominic Leone’s contract from Triple-A and optioned righty Nick Tropeano. The recently-acquired Sam Delaplane was also moved to the 60-day injured list.

The well-traveled Leone has a 4.09 career ERA over 253 career innings for the Mariners, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Cardinals, and Indians, for whom he pitched in 2020. Tropeano, 30, pitched well in four appearances, giving up just one earned run in six innings. He threw two scoreless against the Angels on Monday, so his demotion could simply be about getting a fresh arm in the bullpen.

The Giants also made a change behind the plate, placing Curt Casali on the 10-day injured list with a left wrist sprain. He’s not expected to be out for more than the 10-game minimum, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Those hoping to see top prospect Joey Bart will be disappointed, however. It’s reasonable to assume that the short-term nature of the injury does not warrant disrupting Bart’s development.

Instead, Chadwick Tromp has been recalled to serve as Buster Posey’s backup behind the plate for the next 10 days. The 26-year-old backstop debuted last season, posting a 65 wRC+ in 64 plate appearances.

Lastly, Crowley adds that Evan Longoria’s injury appears to be a mild intercostal strain, and he’ll avoid a stint on the injured list. Longoria is enjoying a resurgent season at the plate this year with a 139 wRC+ and 1.5 fWAR through 178 plate appearances.

Rockies Notes: Story, Joe, Trejo, Bowden

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The Rockies can breathe a sigh of relief: There is no structural damage to Trevor Story’s elbow, per the Athletic’s Nick Groke (via Twitter). The star shortstop’s MRI came back clean, so the Rockies can now look forward to his return as early as next Tuesday.

While the biggest news out of Colorado was no doubt results of that MRI, they also completed a couple of roster moves. The Rockies recalled infielder Alan Trejo from Triple-A and optioned Connor Joe.

Joe has done a nice job in 52 plate appearances, particularly getting on base with a .365 OBP, but the 25-year-old Trejo brings the ability to play up the middle. At least while Story is out, Trejo provides the Rockies with more defensive insurance, especially as they run with a four-man bench. Trejo made his Major League debut earlier this season, slashing .216/.268/.270 in 41 plate appearances.

Yesterday, southpaw Ben Bowden was reinstated from the injured list and optioned to Triple-A, per the team. The 26-year-old Vanderbilt product posted a 6.39 ERA/4.54 FIP in 15 appearances prior to the left shoulder strain that landed him on the injured list.

Yankees Acquire Connor Cannon To Complete Mike Tauchman Trade

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The Yankees have acquired infielder Connor Cannon from the Giants to complete the April 27th trade that sent Mike Tauchman to San Francisco for Wandy Peralta and a Player To Be Named Later. The Yankees announced the completion of the deal.

Cannon was drafted in the 17th round of the 2019 draft out of UC Riverside. The 23-year-old hit .326/.399/.689 in rookie ball during his first taste of pro action after being drafted, but he has yet to appear this season. Probably a first baseman, Cannon pitched some at college, but his power at the plate is by far the greater talent.

The 6’5″, 240 pounder will be on the older side for a prospect wherever he ultimately reports this season, but he does have some promise at the plate, particularly for an American League club that might envision him as a designated hitter. FanGraphs named his as the Giants’ 40th-ranked prospect, crediting him with top-of-the-scale, 80-grade raw power but bottom-of-the-scale, 20-grade speed.

Cardinals To Place Jack Flaherty On 10-Day Injured List With “Significant” Oblique Injury

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The Cardinals will place Jack Flaherty on the 10-day injured list, but the news is much worse than just that, per MLB.com’s Jeff Jones (via Twitter). Flaherty suffered a “significant” oblique injury, adds the Athletic’s Katie Woo. There is no timetable for his return, but the initial word choices here do not paint a positive picture for the Cardinals’ right-hander, who may be looking at a Grade 2 or Grade 3 oblique strain – though no official designation has been given.

This comes as unwelcome news for the Cardinals, who are trying to fend off the Cubs and Brewers for first place in the NL Central. Obviously, losing their ace won’t help that cause. Flaherty has a 2.90 ERA/3.68 FIP in 62 innings through 11 starts, good for 1.0 fWAR. He has been allowing more fly balls than usual with a career-low 36.3 percent groundball rate, but those air-balls haven’t been leaving the yard – 11.7 HR/FB% is the lowest of his career.

The rest of Flaherty’s profile looks pretty close to what we’ve come to expect from the 25-year-old. He’s striking out 26.3 percent of opponents while walking 7.8 percent – both of which are above-average rates for starters this season. He’s averaging 93.9 mph on his four-seamer, which is right in line with the past couple of seasons. He’s gone with more four-seamers than sinkers than usual, but not enough to suggest a change in approach.

In the short-term,Johan Oviedo will take Flaherty’s spot in the rotation. Oviedo was recently optioned to Triple-A, but he’s been recalled in light of Flaherty’s injury. The 23-year-old has a 5.40 ERA/6.02 FIP in 20 innings this season. Before you ask, young hurlers Alex Reyes and Genesis Cabrera have already been ruled out by manager Mike Shildt as rotation options, tweets Jones. Daniel Ponce de Leon or Jake Woodford, however, could be stretched out with the possibility of opening games on the hill.

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